Life is unpredictable, but that's what makes it more exciting, right?

Chapter 6: The Second Day II

Classes are really boring. They should be illegal, Tsuna thought, his chin resting on his desk. He idly stared at the board, not bothering to listen to the lesson. It wasn't like he didn't care about his grades, but no matter how hard he concentrated, his scores just wouldn't move up. Also, it was hard to be attentive to the person in front when the people around him had no decency to even lower their voices. It was obvious that he was still the centre of attention.

Tsuna sat up and stared outside; the serene blue sky was lightly covered with clouds. He smiled. The clouds reminded him of Hibari. The clouds that could never be restrained were always moving, never at one spot, just like how Hibari was – detached. Despite the one week rule, it was never heard that Hibari had been in a serious relationship before, much less had close friends. The other four from the Vongola, as Tsuna assumed, would probably be the closest people Hibari had ever interacted with. Chuckling, he was sure that Hibari would deny that they were his friends or acquaintances. When he gets the chance, he would try to ask the man regarding that.

Tsuna jolted out from his musings. Why was he thinking about him? He blinked a few times; it was probably a fluke. The clouds were aloof; it just reminded him of Hibari. That's all. But, he admitted, the more he thought about Hibari, the more his curiosity grew. He should ask more about his pretend lover for Kyoko's sake. He was sure it would make the girl happy. Right. He nodded at himself, pleased at his idea.

When the period finally was brought to an end, Tsuna brought out two lunch boxes – one for himself and the other for Hibari. He hadn't forgotten about his promise, no matter how the other treated him. He grimaced, remembering the ruckus he had caused earlier. Well... It was Hibari-senpai's fault. He fumed. But inside, he knew Hibari was not to blame. Hibari had such an erratic personality that Tsuna could never know what was in his mind.

Hibari arrived a little while later, his grey eyes immediately landed on him. This time, Tsuna didn't hesitate to go to him. Honestly, he was kind of getting used to him. Tsuna supposed that they were both going to eat at the Reception Room again when Hibari led him to a staircase going up, much to his confusion. Despite the sudden change, he kept following Hibari. It was only a bit after he realised that they were heading towards the rooftop.

Turning the silver knob, Hibari pushed open the door. Tsuna's eyes widened in surprised; the rest of the Vongola were there, all four of them. Hibari looked at him and said, "Yamamoto Takeshi asked me that we eat lunch with them." That one word was dripped in irritation.

Tsuna glanced back at the group and saw that Yamamoto had a large bandage on the left side of his face, which wasn't there earlier when the scene with Suzuki happened. Tsuna grimaced at the thought of Hibari hitting Yamamoto. Gulping, Tsuna summoned his courage. He shouldn't act silly and cowardly like the first time they met. He should be much more manly like the Vongola. His feet ushered him nearer to the group. "H-h-hi."

So much for manliness.

"Yo, Tsunn," greeted Yamamoto, a mouthful of onigiri stuffed in. "Cmmm shh hrrr."

Gokudera whacked the back of Yamamoto's head. "Swallow and then talk, you idiot."

Yamamoto winced a little at the impact, but he started chewing fast and swallowed. He grinned and said, "Yo, Tsuna. Come sit here."

Tsuna looked back at Hibari, tilting his head. Hibari looked back at him, an eyebrow raised in question. Tsuna hugged the two lunch boxes he held in one arm and the other arm took hold of Hibari. Even though they weren't required to take this relationship seriously, Tsuna had this nagging feeling that in the seven days he was supposed to spend time with him, he should at least make the experience worthwhile. Anyway, it was Hibari that brought him to the rest of the Vongola for lunch, adding the fact that he wasn't as scary as his first impression showed him.

"Let's go, Hibari-senpai." Tsuna smiled, leading the man towards the group. At his touch, Hibari promptly removed the hand.

"I can walk by myself," said Hibari. Tsuna gave a wry smile and nodded, feeling somewhat foolish. With his hand free, he was about to hold the lunch boxes with two arms when Hibari took both. "I'll carry it."

Tsuna blinked. "O-okay. Thanks, Hibari-senpai." He walked beside the large space beside Yamamoto. He wondered if Yamamoto constantly arranged it so that he was sitting next to him. Right now, Tsuna had a clear view of Yamamoto's bandage. It actually looked rather painful, considering the size of it. "Yamamoto, what happened to... that?" He asked, pointing at the plaster.

"The bird went wild." A familiar voice chuckled. The smooth voice made him flinch. Yamamoto was at his right and Mukuro was at his left with a gap between them. How could he not notice that? He should had at least exchanged places with the former. Mukuro slowly inched closer and pouted. "You're so far from me, Tsunayoshi-kun. Why not sit with me?"

With a face of disgust, Tsuna did the opposite and went nearer Yamamoto. "N-no thanks."

"Come on. I'm better than that self-proclaimed carnivore over the –" Hibari abruptly sat in the gap between them, lips fixed in a snarl, eyes glaring intensely at Mukuro. Mukuro backed away a little, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Ooh, scary."

"Rokudo Mukuro, I will bite you to death." Hibari had his hands behind him. Tsuna, aware of what was about to happen, attempted to stop the incoming scene. He rested his hand on Hibari's shoulder.

"H-hey, Hibari-senpai. Let's just eat. S-see... I have your lunch here." Tsuna nervously smiled. Unwrapping the orange cloth that covered the boxes. Thin hands shook from nervousness, unable to properly unknot it. Hibari leant forward, removing the knot. "S-sorry." He flushed at the sudden closeness.

"Which one is mine, Tsunayoshi?"

"The bigger one below." Hibari nodded in response and took the one meant for him. He casually opened it, revealing varied food lined up perfectly in the box. Hibari held the chopsticks and, with it, pinched one of the meat, slowly directed it to his mouth and chewed. Tsuna's breath hitched, waiting for Hibari's reaction. Hibari took one after another without saying anything, making Tsuna worry.

"What?" asked Hibari.

Tsuna jolted at having been caught. "H-how is it?"

Hibari paused and said, "Good."

"Thank goodness." Tsuna smiled brightly. "I was kind of afraid since I didn't know what Hibari-senpai likes." Hibari muttered something incomprehensible. Confused, Tsuna asked, "What was that?"

"I said hamburger steaks. I do not like being asked to repeat myself, Tsunayoshi."

"S-sorry," mumbled Tsuna, but smiled, pleased that he learnt one piece of information about him. "Then that's what I'll make next time for lunch."

The sharp sound of whistling was heard. Tsuna whirled around to see that the other four were watching them, and that it was Reborn who whistled. "Is the bird starting to get caged?"

"Are you looking for a fight?" growled Hibari.

"Just amused." Reborn smirked. "Not like you could win anyway."

"I will bite you to death."

"No thanks. That's disgusting."

Hibari stood up and scowled at the other, a killing aura surrounded him. Tsuna started to panic, immediately latching on Hibari. Was asking for a normal lunch too great to ask for? "H-Hibari-senpai, please don't fight."

"Stop touching me." Hibari shoved his hand off.

Tsuna paled, afraid of the enraged prefect. Maybe his thoughts of Hibari not being that violent was wrong; he was just being nicer because Tsuna was his lover of the week. That was probably it, Tsuna guessed. He brought up both of his arms in front. "S-s-sorry."

"You're scaring him, Hibari," a serious voice said. Tsuna turned around to see that Yamamoto was glaring at Hibari, which in turn increased Tsuna's scared level. Seeing the always-smiling teen turn solemn freaked him out, similar to how he treated Suzuki. "You. Are. A. Vongola," he hissed.

Hibari, too, glared at Yamamoto. He immediately turned around and exited the rooftop, leaving Tsuna gaping in shock and fear. "I-I'm sorry. I s-shouldn't have..." Tsuna's voice shook.

A smile returned to Yamamoto's face when he looked at Tsuna. "Maa, it's Hibari, it's normal. So don't worry about it."

"Why would you ask him to date you if you're that scared of him?" scoffed Gokudera.

Mukuro, who remained silent the entire scene, spoke up, "I'm curious too. I mean, I'm way better than that... that..." Mukuro's nose scrunched in repulsion.

Tsuna tried to smile but utterly failed. he mumbled, "It was a misunderstanding. I was asking him out for a friend, but he took it as me wanting to date him. I guess I was so scared of him I didn't manage to say everything clearly."

"I see." Yamamoto looked thoughtful. "And?" Tsuna cocked his head in question. "Who's the friend? She should at least come to him in person. That's pretty cowardly," added Yamamoto.

"She's not cowardly," said Tsuna, somewhat annoyed. "Kyoko's just shy."

"Kyoko? Isn't that the girl you –" Tsuna slammed his hand against the Gokudera's lips with eyes begging for his silence. Mentioning the girl's name was a mistake. The thought that Gokudera knew about his feelings completely left him. His hands quivered, Gokudera's voice muffled by the cover. Realising this, he immediately released his hands, the other scowled at once. "Do that again and I'll castrate you."

"Hie! Sorry."

"So you decided to be the knight who sacrifices for the princess? That's pitiful," said Reborn.

"Well, it's better than ruining our friendship. At least she's happy," murmured Tsuna. Now that Hibari got infuriated, the chances of getting to know him better slimmed. He decided to apologise fast to the prefect; he'd do that after school. Right now, Tsuna had other plans. "Anyway, would you guys tell me more about Vongola? I-I don't really know much about it since I wasn't interested anyway. Ah!" Tsuna panicked. "I m-mean..."

"Maa, I understand. You're not interested in guys." Yamamoto grinned. "Well, guys or girls ask us on a date and bam, a week of weee, and then boo it ends," he explained, flailing his hands wildly along his self-made sound effects. Tsuna just blinked at Yamamoto.

"Your idiocy is truly remarkable, Takeshi." Mukuro chuckled. "People ask us to go out with them, and we pleasure them for a week by –" he whispered directly in the Tsuna's ear, turning him as red as a tomato.

"What the fuck are you telling him, you pineapple pervert?" growled Gokudera. "It's simple. We have this annoying people ask us out and then we dump them after a week, and then they're stuck in their own fantasy world full of their stupid delusions. All of those idiots are just the same." He rolled his eyes.

Tsuna scratched his head. "I do get the 'ask them for a date and they'll go out with you for a week'," Even if it's in their weird way of saying it. "But I mean, are there any rules? Hibari-senpai did mention before that you guys accept anyone, no matter who they are." Guilt shot up as he mentioned Hibari's name.

Reborn spoke up. "Before any of these idiots will answer, I'll do it. Just as they have said, Vongola will accept anyone as long as their week is free. It's first come, first serve. We are required to treat our current lover special with our best service as possible. But," he lowered his voice, "it is no longer our problem if they become, let's say, delusional."

Reborn's voice sent shivers down his spine. "Who thought of forming this group? And why?"

"Kufufu, because we're obviously good-looking and popular with not only the ladies." Mukuro winked. "So think of this as giving everyone an equal chance to be with us."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by the powerful confidence thrown at him. Nonetheless, Reborn continued, "Oh, and I formed the group." A sly smile became visible on his face. "Together with Hibari Kyouya."

\

Different thoughts swirled in Tsuna's mind, making him become more confused as a second passed by. Reborn's words kept repeating themselves. Tsuna raked his hair in frustration. Hibari hated crowds. Hibari despised herbivores. Hibari was unsociable. He shook his head; now's not the time to be thinking about that. He should, first of all, apologise to Hibari. If he jeopardised their relationship now, it might lessen his chance to become closer to him, leading him to become unhelpful to Kyoko.

Sighing, he placed down the trash bag on the floor, sweating a little at the weight, his small body not helping. Being on cleaning duty was a pain. Tsuna frowned. Not to mention that the rest of those on duty were doing nothing, only pretending to do something when a teacher passed by.

The sounds of feet nearing him surprised him. He turned around to see the least person he wanted to make contact with – Suzuki. Remembering his classmate's goading made Tsuna see red. "What?"

"I just wanted to see if you needed help." Suzuki smiled sweetly. A little too sweetly.

"Just leave me alone, would you?" grumbled Tsuna, lifting the bag again.

"But I said I wanted to help." Suzuki placed his palm on top of the bag and pushed it down, the contents of the sack littered the floor. "You," Suzuki jabbed Tsuna's chest, "humiliated me in front of the entire class –"

"You brought that on yourself," spat Tsuna.

"– and I'm going to teach you a lesson." Suzuki was only one person and didn't seem that strong. Perhaps if Tsuna used his full strength – which he had, hopefully – then it may be possible to defeat him or at least suffer minimal injuries.

But who was he kidding?

Two more guys appeared on both Suzuki's sides, changing Tsuna's complexion to white. I'm screwed. Despite the clear disadvantage, Tsuna formed a defensive stance. He placed his clenched hands in front and set his feet slightly apart. This time, he would make sure he was not going down without a fight. Suzuki's insult a while ago was too much for him. He had managed to gain new friends, and there was no way he'd let anyone slander that.

"Fighting back? Tut, tut, Dame-Tsuna." Suzuki waggled his index finger. "If you want, I could let you deal the first punch."

"I d-don't need charity." How ironic. Tsuna mentally screamed.

"Tough words for a small animal."

Truly, Hibari Kyouya never failed to surprise him.

"H-H-H-H-Hibari?" stammered Suzuki. There was never a day when Tsuna thought anyone would beat him in stuttering. Finding it funny despite the situation, Tsuna snickered. "I w-w-was just helping Dame-Tsuna. Yeah, I was." He nodded vigorously. "S-s-so w-we're going now. Bye!" Twirling around, Suzuki prepared to ran away, but Hibari made sure to intervene.

"I believe you were offering Tsunayoshi something?" Hibari's grasp on Suzuki's collar made the former gasp. "Well?"

"First punch! First punch! I was offering him the first punch!" Suzuki struggled against the hold.

Dragging the now panicking ruffian, Hibari dropped him off in front of Tsuna.

Tsuna gave Suzuki a glance then looked down. He knew what Hibari wanted him to do. But no matter how the scoundrel treated him, he just couldn't bring himself to hurt anyone. Tsuna responded with a clever, "Uh."

Hibari picked up Suzuki again and took out one of his tonfa, eyes glinting in anticipation. "It seems I'll be taking your offer."

"Eep!" Tsuna closed his eyes and covered his ears, willing the sounds of the metal rod hitting the three and their cries to go away. He started counting sheep to redirect his attention, only barely reaching the eighteenth sheep when he heard Hibari's voice.

"I'll walk you home." Tsuna opened his eyes and shuddered. All three guys lay in a heap, unconscious. It didn't seem like they were on the verge of dying. Maybe a few broken bones here and there, and a pair of black eyes for all. However, the other two guys Suzuki had with him were twice his size. Tsuna wondered how Hibari beat them. Next time, he would make sure he'd keep his eyes wide open.

"O-okay. Let me just grab my bag in the classroom. Could you wait for me by the gate?" Hibari nodded and whipped out a black cellphone. Tsuna realised he and Hibari had never exchanged e-mail addresses or numbers. Kyoko would most definitely be happy if he managed to get those. I'll try to get it later.

As fast as his short legs could carry him, Tsuna ran back to the room, not surprised upon finding it empty. Sighing, he surveyed the room to make sure it was at least presentable. Satisfied that it was, the brunet grabbed his bag, inevitably, his eyes found itself looking outside, finding the prefect leaning against the wall. I should hurry. He dashed again, almost tripping at some point.

"Sorry for making you wait, Hibari-senpai!" Tsuna gasped, taking in fresh air at each gasp. Stamina, he needed to improve it, Tsuna noted.

"It's fine. Let's go."

Tsuna resolved that this time, he'd be able to learn more about Hibari. But yesterday, the first time they went home together, was extremely awkward which led to the air being filled with quietude. He knew Hibari wouldn't initiate any conversation, so he was left with that job.

"Hey, senpai." The only response was a grunt. Tsuna assumed that was his way of telling he was listening. "Thanks for saving me earlier. I really appreciate it. I'm not really strong like you. Just like you said, I'm simply a small animal." He sheepishly laughed.

"Small animals aren't always weak. Otherwise, they would've all died out by now."

"Oh, I guess you're right." Silence once again resumed, but Tsuna didn't want it to end just like that. He thought and thought of something to say when he was reminded of what Reborn said earlier. "Uh, Reborn said he formed the Vongola with y –"

"What did he tell you?" asked Hibari sharply.

Tsuna flinched. "J-just that he formed the group with you." Silence. He groaned within, getting disheartened at even trying. He told himself that making an effort to know more about Hibari was for Kyoko, to make it up for his blunder. But right now, he was suffering from exasperation. Every attempt he tried seemed like it was of no use.

"Yamamoto Takeshi informed me of Suzuki Takao's behaviour."

The Hibari Kyouya started a conversation. Tsuna gaped, the action completely surprising him. Regaining his composure, he said, "I guess I caused quite a ruckus. Sorry." Part of that was your fault though. Instantly taking the idea back, he shook his head; it was his own fault for acting rash.

"For a small animal, that was bold."

Now he was praising him. If there were more surprises, Tsuna didn't think his heart could take it anymore. "T-thanks." Hibari gave a slight nod and turned silent once more. Tsuna was pleased that the tension between them went down. "I'm sorry for making you mad during lunch. I didn't mean to..." What did he do wrong again? Touch him?

"Tomorrow," said Hibari suddenly.

"Eh? What?" Tsuna looked around wildly, not noticing that they had arrived at the front of his house.

"We will be going to the amusement park. Be ready at eleven. Do not be late."

Saturday was the day tomorrow, meaning no classes. A date? Tsuna became flustered. Calm down, Tsuna. It's just pretend, no need to panic. "But isn't it crowded there?"

"Are you questioning me?" Hibari glared.

"N-no, Hibari-senpai."

"All right then." Tsuna watched the Hibari's retreating back.

Unpredictable, Hibari Kyouya was indeed unpredictable.